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Time Warner chairman Jeff Bewkes. Image by Getty Images via @daylife

On Friday, after Time Warner fired Time Inc. CEO Jack Griffin, I did a little digging and concluded that the media conglomerate owed him at least $5 million in severance. While my math was on target, what I didn't know for certain at the time was Griffin's contract included a clause reducing his severance in the event that he was terminated within his first six months on the job. Although his hiring was announced last August 9th, Griffin didn't assume his duties until the following month owing to a non-compete with his former employer, Meredith Corp.

In other words, by firing Griffin now rather than waiting a few weeks, Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes saved his company a pile of money, maybe millions.
Officially, that had nothing to do with the timing of the action, which Bewkes took the moment he'd concluded that Griffin wasn't working out. Likewise, Bewkes wasn't thinking about the possibility that a number of executives fed up with Griffin might be holding their resignations until after they'd collected their annual bonuses, which are handed out around this time of year. (David Carr says that may have been a factor.)

Still, it's worth noting when considering why Bewkes was in such a hurry to be rid of someone he was so anxious to nab just a few months earlier. Indeed, according to the New York Post's Keith Kelly, Bewkes refused to grant even Griffin's request for an extra 24 hours to deliberate over whether he would rather resign than be fired.